


Silver hair, Blue eyes and a....Tail?

by Shadow_moon



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Basically, First Long Fic, Fluff and Angst, Human Yuuris side, Later to be Short haired Victor Nikiforov, Long-Haired Victor Nikiforov, M/M, Magic, Merman Victor Nikiforov, Merman Victors side, Merman Yakov, Merman Yuri Plisetsky, Multi Chapter, and, anyway, human yuuri katsuki, mer!Victor, mermaid au, tags to be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2019-11-07 18:10:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17965538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_moon/pseuds/Shadow_moon
Summary: On one of his may trips to the beach, Yuuri finds something that will change his life forever.





	1. A Strange Morning

**Author's Note:**

> OK SO, this is my first long fic and its pretty experimental. chapters may switch from first to third person and vise versa and there may be switching POVs. you have been warned.   
> anyway please comment and give me feedback on this I would like to be able to improve my writing for the future and suggestions would help. tell me what you like and don't like.   
> I don't have a specific posting schedule, but I wont take too long to post.   
> Enjoy!

I can’t sleep. Every time I close my eyes they snap back open as if gravity doesn’t apply to them. It isn’t unusual for this to happen. It’s frustratingly common for anxiety to make my stomach swirl and my head loud. Most of the time it comes seemingly out of nowhere and prevents me from sleeping which can be pretty frustrating for someone that likes to sleep. When it first started happening I hoped that I would get used to it, but no, I desire too much to sleep in And, you know, function the next day. 

A frustrated groan leaves my lips and I throw my body into a seated position, turning to snatch up my glasses and place them on my face, then grabbing my phone. Dread mixes with the anxiety already present when I turn it on. Immediately my eyes close and I hiss at the glaring light of my screen, but that’s not the real issue here. Though you’d think that I’d learn to turn the brightness down after repeating this situation on multiple occasions. The problem is the time. When my eyes adjust and I peek at the time and groaning again, this time in resignation. 

It’s 5:15 way too early in my books. The bath house doesn’t even open for another hour and fifteen minutes. A little annoyed, I turn off my screen and let my hand fall limply into my lap. At this rate I’ll go insane. 

Well since sleeping isn’t working, it’s time for a run. That’s what I usually do when I’m anxious. That or I go dance, but Minako's studio isn’t open at the moment so running it is. 

Sigh

With a grunt I throw my legs over the side of the bed and push myself up into a standing position. My hands come up under my glasses to rub any lingering sleep out of my eyes as I stumble to the dark brown dresser at the opposite side of the room. Squatting down, I pull open the bottom drawer and grab my work out pants and a blue t-shirt. It may be summer, but the air is still cool this early in the morning. I pull the pants on over my boxers and replace my PJ shirt with the black t-shirt, before grabbing some socks and shoving them on my feet. I almost fall a few times, but that’s not important. 

I open my door as quietly as possible, tiptoeing down the hall and to the public area. My sister is a light sleeper and she wont let me leave if she catches me. It’s really a pain sometimes, but I know she just worries.   
Slipping on my shoes, I quickly escape out the door, at which point all efforts at being silent is thrown out the window. I start out jogging at first as to not tire myself out too much, but after about a mile or so of that I switch to a run. The familiar scenery passes by as I run my usual path towards the beach. There I usually sit and watch the sunrise before making my way back to the house to help okaasan. 

It takes ten more minutes before I reach the beach. I run down the familiar steps before slowing to a stop a few feet before water meets sand. 

The calm of the early morning beach is infectious and I can’t help but let out a relaxed sigh as my body loses some of its tension. I tilt my head back and close my eyes, feeling the breeze sift through my hair and cool the sweat on my skin. The salty sea air fills my nose with a nostalgic familiarity that makes me want to stay forever. Really, I couldn't be happier that I live near the beach, this is my safe haven. Usually I come to just sit on the sand, but sometimes I’ll swim too. And my favorite part? People rarely come here. There are more touristy beaches around that have lifeguards and shops and food stands or restaurants. This one doesn’t have any of that which leaves it isolated. 

I love it. 

The sun hasn’t yet reached the horizon, sky still dominated by the lowering full moon and the twinkling stars. Looking at the night sky makes me feel small, but in a good way. It makes my problems seem insignificant which in turns leads me to worry less about them. Temporarily anyway. 

‘Since there’s nothing else to do I might as well just walk along the shoreline’. In a second my shoes are removed and my socks are tucked into them. I roll up my pants so they don’t get wet when I walk in the water. Lucky for me the water isn’t too cold, perks of it being summer time I guess. 

I wade through the shallows, with the water only reaching up to the middle of my calves. My mouth quirks up slightly at the feeling of sand in between my toes, and the water against my legs. It was a soothing feeling which is exactly what I need right now.

“Maybe I should just live here. I would probably get some….actual...sleep.” I trail off when I see a dark lump in the distance, squinting to see if i could figure out what it was from where i stood. What in the world could that be? I hope it isn’t some kind of animal caught up in something, that would be bad. Obviously. 

I pick up a jog and I make my way towards the mass a little ways down the beach, slowing down to a walk as I reach it. If it is an animal I would rather not scare it half to death with a fast approach.   
By looking at it from here i decide that it can’t be an animal. Long silver hair lays tangled and covered in sand around what I reeeaaalllly hope isn’t a human head and body. My heart pounds in my chest as I slowly creep closer and closer to the figure, fearing for the worst at this point. I try peer at the body, but it’s covered by seaweed, fishing net, and sand, so I can’t really see what it is.

Oh geez. 

I circle around to see the other side and almost scream.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, that’s a person- Hold on” I narrow my eyes in confusion. The face looks human but, not...completely? It’s odd. The ears look like light blue fins, and there are...scales sprinkled across his(?) cheeks? An idea floats through my mind, but I quickly slam it down because nope, It’s not possible. 

I shake my head and hesitate before crouching down near the head. If this man is alive, he needs help so I can’t linger. 

Slowly I bring two fingers to the pulse point where the neck meets jaw, and have a great sigh of relieved when I feel a pulse. I get ready to pull back so I can call an ambulance, then pause. 

Are those...gills? 

Suddenly, a deep hiss slices through the air and I let out a shrill scream before flinging myself back and landing hard on my ass. Ow. I look down in shock and my eyes meet startlingly blue eyes, narrowed in a glare. I sit there panting in fear, growing nauseous when I look down to see what look like shark teeth bared at me. 

“U-uh uhm” I try, but I can’t get any real words out, too paralyzed with fear to move at all really. 

So much for a calm beach trip, huh?

Glaring eyes turn into a more narrowed, wary look, instead of the aggressive they were before. Teeth are hidden back behind closed lips and I sag in relief. Barely. Suddenly narrowed eyes go wide in panic and the man(?) starts thrashing and whining as if just realizing the compromised situation he’s in. 

“He-hey stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!” I put my hands out, stupidly might I add, in an attempt to calm down the writhing, panicked figure. I quickly snatch my hands back when blue eyes glare at me once more as pointed teeth snap at my hands. 

The figure pants heavily, seeming to give up struggling in favor of just whining pathetically with his eyes closed as if accepting whatever is coming for him.

I frown worriedly at the man, wanting to help, but also not wanting to get attacked again. I shift back onto my knees and reach forward slowly, watching closely for a reaction so I can quickly pull away if necessary. I place my hand slowly, gently down at where I assume the shoulder is under the tangle of net and instantly feel the area tenses. After a moment, blue eyes blink back open and glance at me curious, but cautious. 

“Hey, uhm, I don’t know if you can understand me or anything, but I want to help you so please don’t attack me.” I cringe slightly at the plea, trying to give the man a reassuring smile, but his expression doesn’t change. The body under my hand is still tense as if waiting for a strike, and the eyes still peer at him with mistrust. 

So I try again, in English this time. I figured if anything the man would understand English over Japanese. Not that I know any other language anyway. 

This time I get the response I’m looking. The silver haired man's eyes widen, still slightly distrustful, but also a little relieved at the idea of being freed. The shoulder under my hand finally relaxes a fraction so I bring my other hand up, feeling it’s finally safe to act. 

“I’m going to push you onto your back ok?” I ask. Making sure not to switch back to my first language. 

The man's head moves slightly and I take that as a nod. Slowly, I push the man from his side, onto his back, careful not to jostle too him too much just in case there are any injuries. When that’s done I sit back on my heels to look over the net, contemplating on how I will remove it. I didn’t bring any kind of knife with me so I can’t cut it off. Maybe I can find a loose end. 

I lean forward again to run my hand along the rope, desperately hoping to find an opening. I breathe as sigh of relief when I do. I Pull up on the loose edge of the net and move it.   
Huh. this might be easier than I thought. 

Turns out, this net is only rolled up around the guy like a burrito, with the end of the rope tucked in a little. I have to wonder how this happened, this kind of wrapping doesn’t happen on accident.   
I furrow my brow and bite my lip in worry and confusion. Someone must have done this, but why?

I look back up to the man and flush a little in realizing that he was watching me the whole time. 

“So, as weird as this may be, I’m going to have to uhm, roll you? The way this net is, besides cutting it that’s the only way to get you out.” I say timidly. 

I get another nod of approval and immediately I start rolling the man across the beach, apologizing every time he lands on his stomach. I feel bad that he has to get sand in his face. This must also be pretty humiliating for him too. 

That thought is basically confirmed when I look up to see a disgruntled expression on the his face.

After the fifth roll I notice something shine under the net. I stare at it for a good few seconds before groaning and dropping my head in disbelief. There really is no denying it now, this man must be some kind of mermaid,   
merman? Oh man why does this have to happen to me? 

Underneath the net are scales. Scales that are the same color as the ears. 

I let out a heavy breath and shake my head. Whatever, I still have to get him out of here. 

It only takes two more rolls to completely remove the net from the merman's body. For a supposedly mythical creature, he is beautiful, though I didn’t get to look for long before webbed hands were pressed into my chest and I was pinned down by the creature I had just saved.

Shit, maybe this was a stupid idea. 

My eyes stare up in fear as the merman's narrowed eyes look down at him curiously. I’m relieved to see little to no hostility because man did I think I was about to die. 

I swear I get emotional whiplash when the merman's expression changes completely. Instead of a narrowed eyed look and a frown, there was now wide, grateful eyes and a blinding, heart shaped smile. 

I grunt when the merman pushes off of my chest and lands next to me, his eyes wide and begging when as he glances at me, then the water, then back at me. I prop myself up on my hands and stare in confusion. 

Oh. 

“Do you need help getting back in the water?” 

The merman nods frantically and lifts his upper body up off the sand and tries to pull himself to the water.

“Ok, ok hold on a sec.” I mutter, turning onto my knees and holding out my arms. “Grab onto my neck.”

Slim, but muscular arms wrap around my neck and a head presses into my shoulder. I’m not exactly comfortable with razor sharp teeth near my throat, but I don’t have much of a choice at the moment. 

Slowly I put my arms around the merman's torso and under the tail and struggle to get up onto my feet. Damn this guy is heavy. Luckily I still manage to stand and waddle awkwardly into water deep enough so the merman's tail doesn’t drag on the sand. I slowly put him in the water and straighten back up. 

Surprisingly, he doesn’t leave right away. Instead the he stares up at me, a grateful look shining in his eyes. He seems to hesitate for a moment before a webbed hand reaches up and grabs my arm. I yelp when I’m yanked back down, but thankfully I’m not pulled to my death or anything. Instead the merman leans up and nuzzles his nose into my cheek and lets out a purr before letting go, falling back under the water and disappearing.

I stand there in shock, hand to my flushed cheek and mouth dropped open in surprise.

What, what was that for?

I shake my head to get rid of the embarrassment and stare out into the ocean, wondering if I’ll ever see the silver haired merman again. My pants and shirt are wet, but I can’t bring myself to care as I stand there stunned, unable to completely process what just happened and how or if I’ll explain this to anyone. 

A breath of disbelief passes my lips and a smile touches my lips I looking over to watch the sun peak over the horizon, but don't really see it.


	2. The Day Continues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri continues the rest of his day with thoughts of the morning in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is shorter, though most will probably be this length. It feels kinda rushed to me, but you can tell me if it really is in the comments. Anyway there is not Victor in this chapter, but I think the next one will make up for that. Enjoy~
> 
> P.S. Constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged

CH2:  
I don’t know how long I stand there for, but it was long enough for the sun to rise fully above the horizon.

Suddenly, I’m shaken out of my dazed state by a my ringtone. I scramble to grab my phone from my back pocket, momentarily realizing that he’s lucky it didn’t get wet, and see Mari flashing on the screen. 

Oh no

Quickly I swipe the screen to answer the call and bring my phone up to my ear. 

“Yuuri, where are you!” she asks angrily. 

I wince slightly at her tone before answering sheepishly. “I’m uh, at the beach” though she probably already knows that. I look down twist the hem of my shirt nervously as she sighs in response.

“Yuuri, you need to give us warning next time you leave. At least write a note, we were worried!

I wince again and look down a the reflection in the water, feeling guilt stir in my stomach. Despite the scolding he knows this will happen again. It always does. “I’m sorry Mari. I’ll come home now.”

“Good, we need your help around here anyway it’s pretty busy today.” 

Before I could respond, the phone clicks, meaning she hung up. “Well, guess I better head home.”

I take another glance out into the ocean before walking out of the water and to my shoes. Once they’re on I start my jog back to the house. Like before, I jog for the first mile then start running, faster this time to get home as quick as I can. I’ll have to apologize to okaasan and otousan for worrying them when I get back. 

It takes about twenty minutes to finally get home. I rest my hands on my knees and take a minute to catch my breath before opening the door and stepping inside. Instantly my senses are filled with the smell of food and the sound of people talking to eachother. Mari wasn’t lying when she said this place was busy. 

I quickly toe off my shoes before speed walking my way to the kitchen to greet okaasan. 

“Ohayo, Okaasan, I’m home.” I say softly. 

She lights up and turns towards me. “Yuuri! Welcome home! Sit, sit I will bring you some breakfast before you start.”

I bow in thanks and turn to leave before pausing and spinning back around. “I’m sorry for worrying you, I’ll make sure to leave a note next time.”

“Don’t worry about it, go sit food will be out in a minute.”

I smile and nod as I finally leave the kitchen, relieved that she wasn’t mad, though she usually isn’t. 

I sit down at one of the tables and sigh. After everything that just happened, sleep has finally caught up with me and my eyes grow heavy. Maybe I should tell Mari what happened, but- no. She probably wouldn’t believe me.

I rest my head on my folded arms and face the TV, though I’m too distracted to really process what’s on the screen. Some kind of sport I guess. I wonder what happened to the merman after he left. Did he go home? Did he get captured again? What’s his name? I wish I could have asked him those questions, but he swam off pretty fast after he...nuzzled me? My face flushes in embarrassment and I bury me face in my arms. Why did he do that? Was he saying thank you? I let out a long groan into the table. Gah, too many questions, it’s gonna drive me nuts. 

Suddenly I’m pulled out of my thoughts by a plate of pancakes being dropped in front of me. Huh, american food. 

“Arigatou, Okaasan” I smile before looking back down to dig into the food. Man I’m hungry, but damn am I gonna have to work this off later so I don’t gain weight. I hate that I gain weight so quickly, but I guess it balances out since I lose it fairly quickly too. 

“Enjoy Yuuri. When your done can you please go help your sister with whatever she needs?”

“Hai, I’ll do that.” 

When I finished the pancakes I bring the plate into the kitchen and wash it off before placing it in the dishwasher.

Time to go find Mari. 

\---

It takes a few minutes of aimless wandering, but I finally find her in the laundry room folding towels that the guests use when they want to go into the hot springs. 

“Ohayo, Mari. I was sent to see if you needed help.”

She lets out a sigh and stands up. “Well, you can go help Otosan with some cleaning in the hot springs.”

I nod and turn to go find my dad, but Mari stops me with a hand on my shoulder. She spins me around and looks me over with a scrutinizing look in her eyes. 

“You ok? You seem a little off.”

Do I? I didn’t think I was acting any different, but leave it to Mari to notice any little differences. I give her a small smile before responding, hoping to ease her worries. It’s not like I can tell her what really happened. Not yet at least. 

“I’m good, I feel better after the run. I’m just a little tired is all.”

She narrows her eyes an stares at me for a few seconds longer, searching for any lies, but she seems to deem me safe to leave. 

“Ok, go find Otosan and make yourself useful” she sighs.

I nod and turn again and make my way to where my dad should be. I find him in one of the private baths, staring at the water with his hand on his chin and a thoughtful look on his face. 

“Hey Otosan, I’m here.”

“Oh perfect! I could use your opinion on something” he says when he faces me. 

“What is it?”

“Well me and your mother were thinking about making one of the private baths and one of the public baths salt water. I heard some people prefer that.”

I think for a moment before nodding. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea, and other hot springs have had them before. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea, you should go for it.”

“You think? Ok well I’ll talk to your mother one more time about it and make a final decision. In the meantime can you help me do some cleaning?” 

“Hai”

\---

So that’s how my day goes. I help Otosan clean up all the baths, then the showers. When that’s done it’s about noon so I go help Okaasan with the lunch rush. It’s busy and I’m lucky I didn’t drop any of the plates while delivering to the guests. At one point I was carrying five of them at a time. When I’ve had my fill of people I kiss my mom on the cheek and go find Mari. She had me help her clean empty rooms and get them ready for new guests while she went around tidying up occupied rooms while the guests were out. 

By the time closing time comes I’m completely worn out. There’s no way I’ll be staying up tonight, that’s for sure. I contemplate taking a dip in one of the baths, but I’m too tired to risk it. I might just fall asleep in the water   
and that wouldn’t end well. 

I wish my family good night before making my way to the family area of the Inn and stumbling tiredly to my room. When I get there I toss my glasses onto the bed side table and blindly grab a pair of boxers before stumbling over to my bathroom. I didn’t brush my teeth or shower this morning and I am feeling gross. 

I carelessly drop my boxers to the floor and hastily strip my clothes before hopping into the shower. I shriek at the cold water, but thankfully it warms up quickly.   
For a while I just stand there thinking about this morning. The merman more specifically. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I thought he was beautiful, his eyes especially. They were striking, filled with many different shades of blue, and they almost seemed to glow. The long silver hair, while dirty and knotted still looked like it had the potential to be soft and shining. The tail was a blue that matched his eyes, with fins near wear a humans hips would be and long flowy looking fins at the end. It almost reminded me of a beta fish. There were also two dorsal fins, the same color as the tail. One had been pinned down to the human half of the man's back and the other got pinned down part way down the fish half. Even the ear(?) fins held their own type of cute. The shark teeth though. Those made me a little uneasy. The merman could probably tear into me easily, killing me quickly, but painfully. 

My reminiscing was interrupted by a yelp escaping my own lips as the water turned cold again. Aw man I haven’t even used any soap yet. I soap up my body and hair as fast as possible and suffer through a full minute of freezing water before I had the chance to escape. Shivering slightly, I quickly put on my boxers, brush my teeth and throw myself under my blue blankets, desperate to warm up again.   
Once I’m not freezing anymore I reach for my phone to check the time. 

7:30

I frown, it’s a little early to go to bed. At least to me anyway, so I decide to scroll through instagram for awhile. I can’t help, but smile at the post of my friend Phichit and his hamsters. I met him when I went abroad to study at an American college. Phichit ended up being my roommate and despite my social awkwardness we became fast friends. Maybe I can tell him about what happened. I purse my lips and hover my thumb over his account with the intention of direct messaging him, but I change my mind. Maybe I can tell him tomorrow. 

I look up at the top of my screen to check the time again. It’s 8:30 now. I shrug, whatever I’ll just get some sleep. And...and maybe tomorrow I can go back to the beach to see if I can meet the merman again. I get a little eager feeling in my gut when I imagine possibly meeting the merman again, but I squash it down. Can’t be getting my hopes up, he’s probably long gone by now anyway. 

I sigh and turn my phone off before plugging it in so it charges through the night and bunch myself under my blankets to try and get some sleep.

It doesn’t take very long before I’m dreaming of silver hair and blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it wasn't too bad, tell me what you think in the comments. Join me on my discord server where we talk about anything BNHA, YOI, and VLD related. We have meme exchanges and everyday talk too.------------------------------>https://discord.gg/YKRTARx


	3. Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor needs to find a place to stay so he can get back to full health and finds a place not too far from the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! here's a Victor centered chapter for you guys.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged!
> 
> Enjoy!

       Victor swam away from the shoreline as fast as he could move in his weakened state, trying to find a place where he can hide, rest, and regain his strength. It’s been a while since he’s been caught in that net, though how long he doesn’t know. What he does know is that while in it he couldn’t hunt, which also meant he couldn’t eat, so his body was skinnier now. Ribs slightly protruding from his skin, but luckily it wasn’t too bad. It will probably only be  a week before he is back to full strength. 

       The panicked searching slowed down to a calm swim as Victor became filled with both wonder and confusion when he thought about human that saved him. He was sure that he was about to be killed, or captured… again, but instead the human set him free. 

       In his heart he knows that not all humans are bad. When he was a child his mother told him stories of merfolk who fell in love with humans and lived with them happily on the surface.  After the experience he’s had though, he finds it hard to trust that the human he left behind was safe, even if he did save him. Still, he can’t help but think about the black haired man. He was cute, Victor will admit, with slightly chubby cheeks and big brown eyes that he couldn’t help but find adorable once he realized that he wasn’t about to be harmed. Victor felt a little bad for scaring him, but it wasn’t his fault for being defensive. Being trapped in the hands of evil humans for an extended period of time can make one weary. 

       Victor is brought out of his thoughts when he notices a cave that could potentially be his new, but temporary home. Cautiously, he swims towards it, peeking inside to make sure nothing more violent lived there. Seeing no signs of life, Victor sighed in relief and entered the cave, taking in the new space. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. 

       ‘I’ll just have to make it more homey’ he decides with a determined nod. His real house was very decorated. Shells, rocks, and sea glass covered the walls. He also has a small chest full of some interesting and pretty human items he’s collected over the years. 

       Before leaving to gather supplies, Victor quickly peeks outside the cave to search for danger. When he determines that the coast is clear, he darts out of the cave and makes his way right towards the large stocks of seaweed down on the ocean floor. He can use that to make a bed of sorts. Not the best material, but will at least be better than the rough surface of the cave floor. 

       Victor reaches the seaweed, ripping up two large handfuls and dragging them back to the cave. He thinks for a moment then decides that the very back is probably the safest place to be. He contemplates just throwing the  stuff down and calling it day, but deciding against it. He may be here a while so he might as well make it as comfortable as possible. 

       Strategically, Victor lines the cave floor with layer after layer of seaweed, testing the makeshift nest until he deems it satisfying, after which he tosses the rest of the plant to the sea floor below his cave. Victor floats back and admires his work, happy enough with the results to lie down and sleep. The adrenaline from earlier was finally fading, and his weak body was exhausted. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       Victor isn’t sure how long he slept for, but he was woken up by a painful rumbling in his stomach. Victor groans, pushing off his nest with his hands and bringing one up to rub the sleep out if his eyes. He looks around, startled, before remembering where he was and what happened. Victor frowns, looking down at his webbed hands sadly. He misses home, and the people in it. Not to mention easy access to food he thinks with a grimace when his stomach begs for food again. He just hopes that there is enough energy and strength in this body to catch something.  

       Victor makes his way out of his nest, moving slow at first so he doesn’t mess it up.  Pausing at the mouth of the his new home, he is relieved to see a plethora of fish swimming around. When in good condition, Victor would just chase around the fish recklessly until he finally caught one in a way to entertain himself. Unfortunately, this time he doesn’t have the energy, nor the patience to play games. Instead, the merman swims down to hide in the same seaweed patch he took from earlier today? Yesterday? He doesn’t know. He will have to stealth hunt this time. Sitting still long enough for a fish to swim by and become an easy grab, which is hard for someone as impatient as Victor, but he has no other choice if he wants to eat. 

       It feels like forever before a fish comes close enough. Victors muscles tense as he waits for the fish to come just a little bit closer, hands in the sand ready to push off, and tail ready to push out. He lunges, sharp claws dig into the fishes scales and pull the struggling animal to Victor’s hungry mouth. He doesn’t hesitate to tear into the tasty flesh, scarfing down the meat like a starving man, which, he realizes, is kinda accurate for him.When he gets down all of the edible parts, he lets what’s left of the body go, quickly shifting back into his hiding spot. He’s still hungry. 

       Narrow blue eyes zero in on another unassuming fish at it approaches his hiding spot. His muscles coil up, ready to pounce once more. This fish is bigger so it should keep him satisfied for a few hours at least. The fish approaches and Victor can’t help but wonder what kind it is, since this area, including the fish was unfamiliar to him. He’s never hunted around here before or really been around here at all.

       Victor watches the creature sink to the sand, poking around for some food and Victor takes his chance, lunging out and grabbing the flailing body in his claws. This one takes a little more effort to hold on to since it’s bigger than the last, but it stops struggling once a chunk is taken out of its side. 

       When Victor finishes feasting on his meal, he swims out of his hiding spot and just looks around. He hasn’t yet been able to enjoy the new scenery since he has been either passed out or starving. Now that his stomach is filled he can explore. He smiles when a school of colorful fish dance and circle around him. The warmer water is nice too, though he’s glad that it’s not too warm because he’s not sure his body could handle an extreme temperature difference. 

       Victor runs his hands through his long silver hair, trying his best to get rid of all the knots and sand. It takes some time, but soon his hair is as silky and beautiful as it was before. He looks down at his tail to make sure there is no lasting damage and frowns when he notices a few cracks in his scales. At least it’s not too bad. His body has some rope burns too, but none of it is anything he needs to be worried about. 

       The merman shrugs and continues his sightseeing, looking for something pretty he could take to decorate his cave, or maybe something to take home with him when he’s strong enough to make it home.  He searches the sea floor, picking up pretty rocks and shells that he finds and bringing them to his cave before going back and looking for more. Victor has always been fascinated by pretty things, which is why his room is covered with them.  

       As he swims around, Victor starts to think about the human again. Maybe he should find him something too. As a thank you gift for setting him free. 

       For a while Victor looks, but can’t find anything that he thinks a human would be interested in. He’s strayed pretty far from his cave, a little more than he is comfortable with and is about to give up and head back when something shiny catches his eye. Victor’s face instantly brightens at the thought of finally finding something and he darts towards the shine. The fish hovering around scatter at the sudden intrusion, but the merman pays no mind to them as he picks up the object of his attention. 

       His eyes widen when he takes it out of the sand. It’s perfect. A beautiful piece of blue sea glass sits in the middle of a black cord, with perfectly intact scallop shells attached on either side. The shells are colored like sunsets and the glass is wrapped intricately with wire. Victor can’t help but stare at the clearly human design in awe. 

       Victor slips the necklace over his head and swims excitedly back to his cave, glad that he finally found something to give the human that saved him. When he gets there he takes it off and admires it, fighting the urge to keep it for himself. ‘I better get this it to that human before I change my mind and keep it’ he thinks semi-jokingly. 

       Victor shoots out of the cave and nears the surface, but hesitates before he breaks through. Nervously, he looks around, searching for any sign of human life, or more specifically, boats on the water before rushing through. Seeing none, he relaxes and continues the last few feet up. When his head hits air he looks around. He must not have gone that far from the beach if he can see it this clearly, but it’s far enough for him to feel secure. Victor looks around for a familiar head of black hair, but the beach was completely empty. 

       He pulls the necklace out of the water and frowns at it. Looking up, victor realizes why no one is around. The sun is going down, guess he’ll have to check again tomorrow. 

       Victor puts the necklace back on and ducks under the water, feeling himself ease up again when he’s back in the safety of the ocean. 

       By the time Victor makes it back to his cave he’s exhausted. Normally he would be able to stay up and active for much longer, but his body isn’t exactly in the best shape. For tonight he will sleep. 

       Maybe the human will be back in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Join us on my BNHA, YOI, VLD discord! --------------> https://discord.gg/UsbBV29


	4. Meeting Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor gives Yuuri his thank you gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo!  
> So I just realized how short these chapters are and I'm wondering if you guys want me to try and make them longer?   
> Constructive criticism in welcomed and encouraged.  
> Enjoy the chapter!

Light shone through the uncovered window of the quiet room, much to the annoyance of its soccupant. Yuuri groans and rolls over to face the door instead, throwing his blanket up over his face to block out any remaining light. For the first time this week he feels truly rested and he isn’t quite ready to let the comforting embrace of sleep go. Body once again succumbing to sleep, Yuuri curls up under the warmth of his blanket and sighs contentedly. Well, that is until memories from the previous morning flashed through his mind. 

Suddenly wide awake, Yuuri jerks up in bed, blanket pooling into his lap and eyes blown wide as he whispers “the merman” to himself in disbelief. 

Part of Yuuri wants to just go about his normal routine, pretending that yesterday never happened. It would certainly be easier that way. Life would go back to its boring, anxiety filled usual. The other part of Yuuri wants to go back to the beach, sick of the life he’s had so far, and longs for something new. 

It takes an unnecessary amount of time before Yuuri decides that he will go to the beach. The merman was hurt afterall, so he should go make sure it’s all right. Anxiety starts to creep into his mind at the decision. What if he doesn’t want to see him? What if the brief moment of friendliness was just that, brief? He probably isn’t even there anymore, back with his family if he even had any. Though at the same time he had to think, what if he got hurt again? What if he’s washed up on shore right now starving and at risk of getting caught?

Yuuri shook his head, trying to bring himself back to center before he spiraled out of control. Back to logical thinking,   
his concerns for the merman won over worries about himself. Which really, they shouldn’t since he doesn’t even know this creature beyond what he looks like. It doesn’t matter though. The merman probably isn’t even around anymore, but he might as go check anyway. For his own peace of mine if nothing else. 

With the decision made, the black haired man heaves himself out of bed and gets ready for what may just be a long and life altering day. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlike Yuuri, Victor doesn’t wake up from any kind of light. His cave doesn’t exactly have windows. Not that the sea lets much light through in the first place. Instead, he is woken up by fish repeatedly poking his body, curious about the new and interesting new inhabitant of their area. Not a very smart choice on their part though. The moment Victor’s eyes crack open, claws snatch two wriggling bodies out of the space in front of them, while the rest scatter in terror. 

Victor sits up and happily enjoys the easy prey, glad that he doesn’t have to take the time and energy to hunt. If this keeps happening, he’ll regain his strength in no time! When he’s finished he drops the remains off the ledge of his cave and enters into open water, stretching out any kinks in his muscles, joints popping. 

When yesterday's plans surface in his mind, Victor looks up to see check the time of day. From what he could tell it was early morning, so he should probably head out soon. An excited smile grows on his face and he shivers in excitement, and maybe a little fear, at the prospect of seeing the human again one last time. He just really hopes that man shows up again, without the intent to harm, and didn’t get scared off so he can give him the thank you gift. 

At that thought, Victor rushes back to his cave and picks up the necklace he laid out next to his makeshift bed, double checking to make sure everything was in place. He darts out of the cave and twirls his way up to the surface, barely containing his anticipation. Like the day before, Victor paused right below the surface, checking to make sure no unwelcome people were around. He’s not stupid, despite what some think. He knows beaches are usually populated with large amounts of people. 

Shockingly enough, no one seems to be around. At least not on the water anyway. Victor quickly untangles his hair from his arms and face, momentarily regretting twirling without having his hair back, and peaks up just enough for his eyes to be above the water. He blinks for a moment, wondering where the beach went before realizing, with a mental face palm, that he has to turn around. In doing so he found exactly what, or who he was looking for.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He remembered to leave a note this time. It’s messy and rushed, but it’s there, left tacked on his door. Though now that he’s thinking about it he probably should have used tape. Okaasan probably won't appreciate the new hole, even if it is small. 

Yuuri winces a little bit at the thought, but quickly dismisses it and focuses back onto his run. The sun is scorching today, which was making him sweat beyond what was comfortable. He’s just glad he brought swim trunks this time instead of his workout pants. He didn’t really expect to go into the water before he left, but decided it was better to be safe than sorry. Now he’s rethinking that choice. The cool water will be a blessing in this blaring heat. Yuuri just hopes that it doesn’t keep the merman away. If he’s still there anyway. 

It’s a quiet day today, though part of that may be because it’s only 8:00 in the morning. The only sounds came from his shoes smacking against the sidewalk, his panting breath, and the occasional car or bird passing by. Yuuri is grateful for this though, since it means that the beach will probably be free of people, like usual.

When Yuuri spots the steps down to the beach in the distance he speeds up, anxious to finally get there. He runs down the steps two at a time, trying not to fall on his face and takes off down the beach near where he originally found the merman. He can’t help but flinch a little at the memory, feeling bad about what happened and concerned about who did it because someone did, that much he knows. 

Yuuri skids to a stop and bends over with his hands on his knees, panting to catch his breath. Normally he could go much farther before reaching this point, but not with this heat. “I probably should have bought sunscreen” he realizes absentmindedly, but quickly shrugs off the thought, focusing on his current goal.

Find the merman.   
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“I hope he wasn’t waiting too long” Victor thinks as he swims towards shore, thank you gift clenched tightly in his hand. Right before he hit the point where he would be forced above water Victor pauses, taking a deep breath through his gills to settle his nerves. “It’s ok, this human saved me. Even if he did have some mal intent, there is only one of him so if necessary I can take him out.” The merman winces. He isn’t exactly one for violence, but if he has to resort to it he will. Victor takes another deep breath and pumps his tail once more, getting as close as he can before using his arms and pushing himself up. 

The moment he breaks the surface he finds that the human is right in front of him. He flinches back slightly in surprise, but steadies himself quickly, looking up at the human with a smile. 

Yuuri gapes down at the merman, once again shocked into disbelief. Welp, he can’t pretend yesterday was a dream now. The proof is right there, smiling up at him with sparkling blue eyes...pretty sparkling blue eyes. Damn do all merpeople have eyes like that. 

Yuuri shakes himself out of his thoughts, face flushing slightly embarrassed by his staring and hoping the merman didn’t notice. He hesitates for a moment, shifting weight between his feet before nodding to himself, walking a few feet into the water, and crouching down. 

“H-hi I’m-” Yuuri is suddenly cut off by a hand being shoved in his face. He flinches back and blinks, eyes focusing on what’s dangling on said hand. 

“U-uhm” Yuuri reaches out slightly, not sure if he was allowed to touch. The question is answered for him when the merman brings it forward and drops it onto his hand and pulls back. 

Victor tilts his head curiously, wondering if the human doesn’t like the gift. He’s kinda just staring at it like it’s gonna bite him. He’s about to reach forward to take it back when the human’s other hand reaches forward to touch the blue sea glass dangling in the middle. 

“Wow it’s so pretty.” He says, and Victor lights up. Guess he likes it after all. 

Suddenly, the humans soft, wide brown eyes meet his and he shrinks back a bit on instinct. 

“Is, Is this for me?” the Human says hesitantly, as if he doesn’t quite believe it. 

Victor nods his head and gives the human a large, heart shaped smile to further prove that point. The human stares at him some more before reaching up to pull the necklace over his head. They both admire how it falls against his chest, the human fingering the shells and staring at them in awe. 

Yuuri brings his attention back the the man in front of him. “My name is Yuuri” he says with a smile. “Do, do you have a name.”

Victor almost snorts at the stupid question. Of course he has a name. He looks at Yuuri warily, wondering if he should tell Yuuri what his name is. Deciding it wouldn’t hurt he tells him.

“Victor. Victor is my name.” He says, voice slightly raspy from misuse, which he frowns at. 

Yuuri gapes at Victor in surprise. To be honest he didn’t expect Victor to be able to speak at all. 

“Well, uhm, It’s nice to meet you, Victor.”

Victor just smiles in response, finally deciding that Yuuri is a good, trustworthy person. Though his joy doesn’t last too long. He winces, just noticing the roaring heat now that the excitement has worn off. His skin feels like it’s on fire and the scales on his shoulders and face feel like they’re about to peel off they’re so dry. 

Yuuri notices this reaction with a frown of concern. “Are you ok?” he asks, reaching out as if to help.

Victor moves away from the touch, fearing that it will make the pain worse. “I’m sorry I have to go.” he says reluctantly. “The sun…” 

Yuuri’s eyes widen and he nods. “Of course, uhm, will I see you again?”

Victor hesitates for a moment before asking, “What about other people, I don’t really want to be seen.”

Yuuri shakes his hands in front of him and reassures victor that no one really ever comes here. 

Victor contemplates this new information then nods. “Yeah, you’ll see me again.” 

With that Victor disappears into the waves, relishing in the sweet relief of the cool water surrounding him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You already know what this is for --------------> https://discord.gg/QM8Nzr5


	5. Telling a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A problem and a confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh I'm sorry this is so late I got caught up in the Michael Vey book series (I suggest reading it).   
> Anyway here is a new chapter for y'all. Constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged.  
> (sorry for the tiny format change)  
> Enjoy!

Yuuri watches Victor depart with a sigh, cursing the sun for being so strong today. At least he knows now that he will see the merman again

But...When. 

Yuuri internally (and a little outwardly) panics at the realization that he was never told when he would see Victor again. For all he knows the next time Victor comes back will be a week from now. A month even! Yuuri could come back and check tomorrow, but what if Victor doesn’t come? He has to help around the Inn the day after and won't be able to get here to check again. 

Yuuri takes a deep breath, trying to calm his anxiety. He’ll just have to come when he can and next time he manages to catch the merman they will figure out more specific times to meet. The black haired man nods to himself decidedly. He’ll run into Victor again eventually. And next time he’ll bring a towel.

Yuuri stumbles away from the water dazed and maybe a little bit in shock if he’s being honest with himself. He plops down into the warm sand, stares at his hands, processing, for a second time in the last two days, that merpeople exist. And he just made plans with one. He knows he shouldn’t be this shaken up anymore, but how would you feel if everything you thought you knew was flipped upside down.

Ok maybe that was being a little dramatic, but still! Mythical creatures are supposed to be just that, myths. 

Through the shock Yuuri still can’t help but be a little excited. How often do people get the chance to meet and interact with something like this? Not often if at all as far as he knows. Plus, this will make his admittedly plain life a little- no a lot less boring.   
Though still, Yuuri wonders why Victor is still around. It would have made more sense to him if Victor had just gone home. I mean he must have one, right? 

Yuuri adds this to his extensive list of questions about Victor and his species. He just hopes Victor isn’t lost or something. 

Yuuri stands up and brushes the sand off of his swim trunks, legs and hands, just about ready to head out. Admittedly he wasn’t exactly prepared for the days scorching sun, lacking any kind of sunscreen, and he wasn’t really in the mood to swim anymore with all of the thoughts swirling around in his head.

A blissful breeze passes by and, just for a second, relieves Yuuri of the heat making him long for the coolness of the Inn. At that he wanders over to gather his shoes and make his way home, deciding it’s time to tells someone of his encounters. Someone he can trust to keep secret and someone that will believe him. That really only leaves one person though. Mari would probably think he was hallucinating from the heat or something. Okaasan and Otousan will probably pretend to believe him and he really just doesn’t want to burden them with this situation. 

To Pichit it is. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Little does the human know, he isn’t the only one realizing the current issue. Victor is three fourths of the way back to his cave when he realizes his mistake. Dramatically he groans, bringing his hand roughly to his face and dragging them down. 

“Dammit” he whispers to himself, whipping around to head straight back to the human, but hesitates. He’s probably gone by now. “I can’t believe I forgot to tell him a time” he thinks, slightly ashamed of himself. Yakov did always say he was forgetful. 

Suddenly Victors mood makes a 180. His fates lights up and he shouts “I’ll just go back every day until I run into him!” It’s not like he had anything better to do while he healed. Fish swimming by either scatter or look at the merman like he grew a second head, but Victor ignores them. 

Victor dances through the ocean as he ponders on what just transpired, humming happily to himself when he remembers how the human acted.

“He was so funny” Victor chuckled to himself. For most of the meeting the human just stared with wide doe eyes shining with amazement at the whole situation. Something tells him Yuuri has never seen a merman before. Not that, that is exactly odd. Victor is also glad that Yuuri liked the necklace. For a second there he was worried he wouldn’t like it with the lack of initial reaction. That shy smile of his is really infectious though. 

Victor starts back toward the cave again, only to pause when his stomach grumbles. Guess he’ll be doing some hunting first.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yuuri hi!” Pichit exclaims excitedly when his face pops up on the laptop screen. Unsurprisingly, little dwarf hamsters show up in various places too, one perched right on top of the Tai boy’s head. 

“Hi pichit how have you been…?” Yuuri trails off a little nervously. Geez, way to be subtle. 

“I’ve been great! I’m almost ready for the competition in China. Coach says I’m ready to upgrade my jumps during competition since I’ve been landing them almost constantly.” he says, eyes shining in pride. Yuuri smiles, proud of how far his friend has come with his ice skating. Back when they were sharing a dorm, Pichit had only been doing beginners level competitions. Sometimes Yuuri would join him in practice (If his coach allowed), but skating was never his thing. 

“That’s amazing Pichit. I bet you’ll get first place this time.” 

Pichit laughs in response. “Hopefully, though I’d be happy with top five since I’ve still got a while before I have to retire.”

Yuuri nods and shifts around a little, nerves fluttering in his stomach. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, trying to build up the courage to tell his best friend what was going on, but didn’t really know how to bring something this...big up in casual conversation. 

Pichit notices Yuuri’s nervous body language and excited friend turns into worried friend. He narrows his eyes suspiciously and leans closer to the screen. “Yuuuuurriii” he drawls. “What are you not telling me.”

The Japanese man cringes a bit at his friends tone of voice, but does his best to compose himself. He takes a deep, calming breath and looks Pichit in the eye. “I met a merman” he blurts out, then winces at how blunt that statement was and how crazy it probably made him sound. 

Pichit gapes at him, eyes wide and mouth dropped open, but then breaks down in laughter. “Oh man Yuuri” he chuckles, wiping a tear from his eye. “You almost had me for a moment.” 

“Pichit....” The amused man quickly sobers up at the tone in his friends voice. He looks up, confused by Yuuri’s seriousness. “You, you’re joking...right?” Pichit says, a little apprehensive. 

Yuuri shakes his head and looks down, fingers tangling together anxiously. “I-I’m being serious. Yesterday I took a run down to the beach and found him washed up in a net.” suddenly he straightens up. “Look I know it sounds crazy, but I swear I’m telling the truth! I saw him again today and I just...I just needed to tell someone and you seemed to be the best choice.”

Pichit stares thoughtfully at the man on his laptop. He can tell Yuuri isn’t lying, and he did say he met him again meaning he wasn’t hallucinating… Pichit decides he’ll go along with what Yuuri is saying, trusting what his friend saw. 

Yuuri starts fidgeting again as time passes without anyone saying anything. This is it. Pichit doesn’t believe him. He’s gonna think he’s crazy and never contact him again, or worse, tell Mari he lost it. “Okay, but pictures or it didn’t happen!”

Yuuri jerks his head up and stares at Pichit, relaxing when he notices the teasing look in his eyes. He sighs and slumps forward, bringing his hands up to cover his face. “Pichit~ he whines.”

Laughing once again comes through the speakers. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding, but seriously I want a picture. And details. I mean, what is he like, does he have a name, can he even speak to you? This is awesome Yuuri, you need to tell me everything.”

Yuuri peaks through his fingers, and nods. “Ok, ok I’ll tell you, but I don’t know much about him yet, just what he looks like, his name, that he can speak English.” He brings his hands down and rests them in his lap, finally calm. “I can tell you what he looks like, I’ll have to ask if he’s okay with me taking a picture though. 

Pichit nods excitedly, effectively knocking the hamster off his head and into his lap. “What’s his name then?”

“Victor”

“Huh.” Pichit says thoughts. “That’s an unexpectedly human name. I thought it would be something weird. 

Yuuri agrees now that he thinks about it, but shrugs that thought away for later. “ he doesn’t look human though, well, mostly anyway. His torso, and face are human enough, but his tail reminds me of a blue betta fish. His ears have fins on them too, and his hands are webbed. His eyes are also a pretty vibrant blue, and his hair is really long and silver. He’s quite beautiful when you think about it, but his teeth are scary and shark like. Oh! And he has gills on the side of his neck and sides. 

Phichit listens with his full attention, thrilled to learn about something so rare as this. Part way through his friends ranting he smirks. “Beautiful huh?” he questions teasingly when Yuuri finishes his little rant. 

The man stutters and raises his hands defensively. “N-no! I mean yes, but not like that I just met him! and he’s not even human anyway” Yuuri scrambles to defend himself. 

Phichit chuckles good naturedly and interrupts his rambling. “Relax Yuuri I was just kidding! But hey who knows how you will feel when you really get to know him~” he continues. 

“Phichit~” Yuuri wines for the second time that day. “You’re so mean to me” he complains with a pout. 

“Hey you can’t blame me!” Pichit exclaims. “I just want my best friend to stop being a lonely bum!”

“Yeah yeah I know I’ll work on it.” They both know he won't. “Hey Phichit.” he says, tone serious again.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t uh, don’t tell anyone. I don’t want people either thinking I’m crazy or believing me and coming to look for him.”  
Phichit smiles at his friend. “Ofcourse, I would never tell anyone.”

Yuuri smiles back and thanks him. He doesn’t want word to spread about Victor. Phichit is popular on social media and if he said something a lot of people would see it. Not only does he want to be able to visit the merman in peace, but he also doesn’t want the people that hurt him to know where to find him, if they’re even looking. 

Yuuri and Phichit talk for awhile longer, soon dropping the conversation about the merman and moving on to their daily lives. By the time they finish talking it’s almost 5:30 and Yuuri is called down for dinner. He sighs contentedly when he says goodbye and closes his laptop. It’s always nice to talk to his best friend, and telling him about Victor took a large weight off his chest too. Now   
all that’s left is anticipation for the next time him and the merman will meet.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Off in a distant ocean, a young merman stares at a magic glass ball, an image filters through the smoky substance shifting around inside it, an image of Victor and some human chatting casually at the shoreline. The young mer growls and throws the ball to the floor in anger. 

“Dammit you forgetful old man!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Join me and my friends on my YOI, BNHA, VLD discord server. we have a lot of fun and interesting conversations a long with fan art sharing------------------> https://discord.gg/bxj8ns5


	6. A/N

Hey guys I'm sorry this is not an update. I just wanted to let you guys know that I wont be posting for a few weeks. I have a huge project to do and have very little time. I promise that I'm not abandoning this fic tho. see you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Join me on my VLD, YOI, and BNHA discord channel, where we talk about and post about these three shows and more.--------------> https://discord.gg/VxgCN7V


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